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Sign up for ninth annual IDES Hot Chocolate Race 10K

ASHEVILLE - The Hot Chocolate 10K running event returns Jan. 23 for its ninth year, produced by Kick It Events. The chip-timed 10K (or 6.2-mile) race is a great way to keep motivated to run and train through the winter.

The predominantly flat course starts at Isaac Dickson Elementary School, 90 Montford Ave., with a hill at the finish as well as hot chocolate. With two shorter races for kids, there is something for runners of all skill levels.

Entry fees are as follows: Adult 10K (ages 18 and older): $35, Youth 10K (17 and younger) is $32.50, and the Kids’ Hill Climb (ages 12 and younger) and Marshmallow Dash (6 and younger) are $5. These prices do not include T-shirts, but shirts are available for purchase at the race.

The event is the main fundraiser for the Isaac Dickson Elementary School PTO.

Pasta dinner and Packet Pick Up are 5-7 p.m. Jan. 22 at the school. The Marshmallow Dash (for ages 6 and younger), starts at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 23. The 1K Kids' Hill Climb starts at 8:40 a.m., and the 10K starts at 8:55 a.m. The Kids Zone opens at 9 a.m. and closes at noon.

Hike the Rim with Swannanoa Valley Museum

BLACK MOUNTAIN - The Swannanoa Valley Museum’s Swannanoa Rim Explorer Hiking Series kicks off Jan. 23 with Hike No. 1 Weatherford Heights. The series consists of 11 hikes that take place each month over the course of a year and will navigate the entire 31-mile rim of the Swannanoa Valley.

HIkers on a past Swannanoa Valley Museum hike. Hike No. 1 in the Explorer Rim Series will be Jan. 23.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

The hike to Weatherford Heights explores the history and geography of YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly. The strenuous, 6-mile hike follows the original boundary line of the conference center’s grounds, surveyed by educator, author, and religious leader Willis Duke Weatherford in 1906.

​Another series, the Valley History Explorer Hiking Series, will start in February and offer the opportunity to explore the past of the unique communities that make up the Swannanoa Valley on seven moderate, approximately 3-mile hikes.

NPS seeks proposals to operate Smokemont Riding Stables

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK - The Southeast Region of the National Park Service has issued a prospectus seeking proposals for the award of a concession contract to operate Smokemont Riding Stables within the park along Newfound Gap Road, about 6 miles north of Cherokee, North Carolina. The new concession contract is expected to begin Jan. 1 and will be awarded for a 10-year term.

The services required under the new contract include guided horseback, wagon and/or carriage rides along with vending and firewood, ice and souvenirs sales.

The current stable operations have been run by the existing contract holder, Elizabeth Burns Cook, since 2008. This contract is set to expire Dec. 31. Under the terms of the NPS Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998, concession contracts must be awarded through a competitive selection process.

Any proposal, including that of the existing concessioner, must be received by the Chief of Commercial Services, Southeast Region, National Park Service, 100 Alabama St. SW, Building 1924, Atlanta, GA, 30303 by 4 p.m. EST on March 23 in order to be considered for award of the contract.

The prospectus is available at http://www.concessions.nps.gov/prospectuses.htm. Hard copies will be available upon request for a printing cost recovery charge of $50 per copy to be delivered via Federal Express or $45 per copy if picked up in person. For personal pick up, contact Molly Schroer, Concessions Specialist, Great Smoky Mountains National Park at 865-436-1209 or Bill Stevens, Chief of Commercial Services, Southeast Region, NPS, in Atlanta at 404-507-5636.

Iditarod runner Pete Ripmaster to speak at Second Gear

ASHEVILLE - Second Gear in West Asheville, 444 Haywood Road, will host ultrarunner Pete Ripmaster for an inspirational speaking event 5:30-7 p.m. Jan. 28. Ripmaster will discuss his upcoming effort to run the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska to benefit the Hope Chest for Women.

A native of the Detroit area, Ripmaster ran 50 marathons in every state between 2008 and 2012 raising more than $50,000 to support cancer research. A former teacher and running shop owner, Ripmaster is now a competitive ultrarunner living in Fairview.

Pete Ripmaster of Fairview will speak at Second Gear Jan. 28 about his upcoming 1,000-mile Iditarod run.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

On Feb. 28, Ripmaster will begin a 1,000-mile run through the heart of Alaska in the dead of winter hauling a sled with all his gear. This will be Ripmaster’s third Iditarod start, but rather than running the 350-mile version of the race as he has the past two years, he will be among a handful of runners that will attempt the entire historic dog sled route from Knik to Nome.

Last year, no runners finished the unmarked race that crosses a portion of Alaska’s vast interior. Since 2000, 15 runners have crossed the 1,000-mile finish line. The last winner, in 2014, took 23 days.

He hopes to raise $44,000 for Hope Chest for Women Inc. in memory of his mother, Hillary, who died of breast cancer. Hope Chest is a nonprofit that offers support, education, and financial assistance to Western North Carolina women at risk or diagnosed with breast or gynecological cancer. Visit www.hopechestforwomen.org.

Sign up for 24th annual Frostbite run

The 24th annual Frostbite 5K and 10K races will be Feb. 21 in Fletcher.(Photo: Citizen-Times photo)

Both races start and end at the fitness center and provide views of Hutch Mountain, with hilly to challenging terrain including some steep inclines. The moderately rolling 1-mile course offers a race for all ages.

Official Frostbite Race T-shirts are guaranteed to preregistered participants through Jan. 31. Those who register three or more family members online (at one time) get 15 percent off entry fees by using code THREEORMORE.

Entry fees are $38 for the 10K, $30 for the 5K and $15 for the 1-mile fun run/walk. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the United Way – Big Brother, Big Sisters Program.

There will also will feature a Family Fun Day and Wellness Expo at the Lelia Patterson Center from 1:30-4:30 p.m. with games, booths and music.

Registration is open at https://racesonline.com/events/frostbiteraces.

‘Run Free’ to debut in Asheville

ASHEVILLE - The Asheville Track Club will sponsor the Asheville premier of “Run Free - The True Story of Caballo Blanco” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29 at Carolina Cinemas, 1640 Hendersonville Road, in South Asheville.

The Asheville premiere of "Run Free" will be Feb. 29 at Carolina Cinemas.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

The feature-length documentary is about ultrarunning legend Micah True. Better known as Caballo Blanco – the White Horse – True was the focal character of Christopher McDougall’s 2009 best-selling book “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen” about the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico.